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PPA CEO David Trust was in DC the past two days advocating
for photographers like you! He and PPA's copyright team in D.C., the Nickles
Group, had a series of meetings with Representatives of Arizona, California,
Georgia, Missouri, Utah and Wyoming and Senators from Los Angeles and Oklahoma who
all have a say on the FAA's
proposed rules for regulating the use of drones in the United States. The
proposed rules are awaiting approval and are now in a 60-day comment period,
during which PPA is working diligently to pull together comments for
submission.

The revised proposal indicates good progress for Photographers.
The FAA proposes and approves the rules on drones; those rules are not
legislation and do not require congressional approval. Currently, the said rules
categorize drones into three physical size groups. PPA is mainly concerned with
regulation pertaining to small and micro drones. A small drone is classified as
55lbs or lighter, and a micro drone is 4.4lbs or lighter.

The FAA's proposed rules would require professional
photographers wanting to use small drones (less than 55 lbs) to take an
aeronautical skills test and obtain a permit and renew that license every two
years. There would also be a one-time
registration fee of $150. With 560 testing sites, finding a testing center should
be easy. PPA believes the proposed rules for small drones to be a major step in
the right direction as they eliminate the current requirement that commercial
drone users hold an actual pilot's license.

The proposed rules for micro-drones (4.4 lbs or less) are
even more favorable as they require no skills test. Photographers wanting to use micro-drones in
their business would have to register and self-certify that they understand the
FAA's aeronautical information manual.

We are still months away before the rules are finalized, yet
solid progresses are being made in the direction of photographers. Want to
weigh in? Please visit the discussion on theLoop
about drones, it's a dynamic one!

Drones are the hot topic at the moment, but Trust also had
discussions on copyright reform and the Next Great Copyright Act, which are
still under development.

As a PPA member, you're using some of the benefits the membership brings you and could probably leverage it a lot more. You know the value of belonging to this photography association. In fact, you probably have some photographer friends who don't belong to PPA and could use a little help with their business.

Why are you a PPA member? People have very different reasons to join and belong to this group, but who better than existing members to get the word out? That's why PPA has developed a reward program, called the Member-2-Member Campaign, to compensate PPA members that refer fellow photographers to PPA.

Whether the photographers in your network are new to the industry or veteran pros, we hope you will encourage them to belong to PPA! Here's how the program works: for each photographer you refer to PPA, you'll earn a $25 Visa Gift Card! The photographer you refer will also get a free all-access pass to Imaging USA 2015. Pretty good, right? Well, it gets even better:

After 3 photographers you've referred join PPA, you'll get a $75 Visa Gift Card ($25x3) AND an all-access pass to Imaging USA 2015 (that's a $179 value!). That means that you get $75 in cash and save $179. Additionally, the friends you referred all get a free all-access Imaging USA 2015 pass. It's a win-win!

If 6 or more photographers you refer join PPA, you'll get a $150 Visa Gift Card ($25x6), plus an all-access pass to Imaging USA ($179 value), and a FREE year of PPA membership ($323 value!). Each friend still gets their all-access Imaging USA 2015 pass. You cash in $150 and save $502! Plain simple!

There's only one rule to earn the rewards: the photographers you refer must not have been a PPA member within the past year. That's it!

Ready to start getting your photography friends to belong to PPA with you? Simply share with your friends how PPA has helped you (think PhotoCare Equipment insurance, PPAedu videos, networking opportunities, copyright guidance, inspiration, etc.). We've even put together recruitment materials to make it easier for you to discuss PPA with your friends. Heck, the free Imaging USA pass may be motivation enough! That's a $179 savings alone!

The campaign will run through December 31, 2014. Just be sure that your friends add your name as "Referring Member" on the top of the application form so you'll get credit for bringing them in.

Find the recruitment materials and referral application on the Member-2-Member Campaign page. Get out there and invite your fellow photographers to Be More by joining PPA!

It's Friday, which means it's time for an update on some of the great photography content we've found around the web! Here are five posts from the week of January 19, 2014 (they might have a theme...you know that awesome conference that happened last week? Yep. It was that cool!):

A first timer's perspective:

James Lout came to Arizona both a PPA and an Imaging USA newbie. Read about meeting his photographic idols and all of his experiences here.

Video blog:

You may have heard, Kenny Rogers was at Imaging USA! He accepted his honorary masters of photography, presented a Q&A with John Sexton (Imaging USA speaker) and was gracious enough to do some press. Check out the press room interview here!

Phoenix: Through Imaging USA's eyes:

Did you Instragram all over Phoenix? Check if your pics made the Downtown Phoenix Journal blog here! They did a compilation of their fav photos, plucked from the social web.

Escape from Wisconsin:

Ellie and Emily escaped the frozen tundra of Waupun, Wisconsin to head to Phoenix. See how they experienced the show and some of the great images they captured while taking advantage of their new surroundings!

Live from the Expo Floor:

The fine folks over at B&H made the rounds, talking to folks on the Imaging Expo floor. Check out what they discovered in their video blogs here!

And for more behind the scenes content, video wrap ups and photos, visit facebook.com/imagingusa! We'll be uploading more content throughout the week, so check back often!

theLoop, PPA's exclusive social network for professional photographers, has been busy in September! Remember, theLoop is only available to PPA members, so don't worry about asking those tough questions you wouldn't want your clients to see. The best part? Now you can stay connected on-the-go with your pro photographer community, asking (and answering) questions, share ideas and even submit images for a peer critique with theLoop's new app for Android & iPhone devices.

For those of you who are new to theLoop, or those who haven't had a chance to check-in lately, there are some amazing threads going on as we head into October. Here are our 5 favorites:

Weigh in with the pros and cons of what happens when you're in a situation with low light and no walls or ceiling to bounce from. High ISO? Slow speed? Large aperture? Join the conversation to see how you can improve your craft.

There was photography before PhotoShop (no really, there was!), but how in the world did they did post editing? See how the industry has changed - consider it a mini history lesson, but with terms like "nose grease".

Do your friends and families try to tell you that Groupon, Living Social, ScoutMob or other deal sites are great ways to boost your business? Check out this thread to give them eloquent reasons why it might hurt more than it helps.

If you're coming to Imaging USA (and you should!), there's no better way to save some dough than by finding a roommate. Think of it like summer camp, but with better parties, more education and less bugs. Use the Imaging USA thread on theLoop to find a suitable bunk mate and book your room at any of the three IUSA hotels!

Ever wish there was an online hangout exclusively for pro photographers? Wish granted. Let me introduce you to theLoop--it's THE social network for professional photographers, and it's waiting for you! (Well, it is if you're a PPA member.)

Need professional advice? Want to share an accomplishment or an inspiration? Now you can! TheLoop makes it easier than ever to connect with your fellow professional photographers in a safe place. Not only can you trade thoughts or ideas with your peers, you can discuss sensitive topics like customer service, dealing with demanding clients, and best practices without fear of being exposed to potential customers or other vendors.

If you're ready to get in theLoop and explore, here are the three super-simple steps to get started:

Portrait+ is an extremely efficient tool designed for commercial portrait photographers, which provides an easiest way to batch-process dozens of photos in a minute with amazing results. Based on face reorganization technology, Portrait+ is able to detect up to 20 faces in a photo and precisely pinpoint facial features. No training is required while both time and money are saved.

Along with the competition, the next edition of the FEP Facebook Cover Picture of the Month contest will open September 28th and close on October 5th. The image that receives the highest number of "likes" will be the cover of the FEP page for the next month and be published on the FEP website.

What do you use? What do you like? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts in this survey about camera and printer use. (Your participation should only take about 10 minutes or less.) Your input helps PPA and our industry partners to keep abreast of industry trends, which allows us to serve YOU better! Click here to begin the survey.

Peter Read Miller, a sports photographer with over 40 years of experience and staff photographer for Sports Illustrated for three decades, will be hosting a sports photography workshop in Atlanta, October 15-21, 2012.

During his time as a sports photographer, Miller has had his images featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated 100 times, among many other editorial and advertising credits. He has covered 8 Olympic Games, 37 Super Bowls, 14 NBA Finals, The World Series and many other sporting events and has shot portraits of countless famous athletes.

At the workshop, participants will gain hands on experience photographing baseball, women's volleyball, tennis, equestrian and youth and high school football. The workshop concludes with photographing the Georgia Tech/Boston College football game on October 20th!

In addition to action photography, the workshop covers portrait lighting with strobes, in the studio and on location; arena lighting and the set-up; and use of remote cameras. Student work is reviewed and critiqued every morning and each student receives a one on one portfolio review with Miller or one of the other instructors.

The workshop costs $1,495.00 and includes all instruction, a one-on-one portfolio review with Miller and all model and location fees. The class size is limited to 20 participants.